Medicures and Panicures

My darling husband is feeling a bit of guilt overload. He did go with us to Disney on Ice, but he is skipping town this weekend for a "boys weekend" hunting in South Texas. This would normally not be a big deal at all, but this Friday is Regan's birthday so he asked for permission to be excused from the festivities.

I should clarify that into saying he will not be attending "New Moon" this Friday with me and several squealing girls and two other mothers. He is quite broken-up about it. To help make amends he treated the three of us on Saturday to our choice of a manicure or pedicure at a local nail salon.

Regan has gotten a manicure before when she was on vacation with us and Rebecca was off at camp. She decided again that a manicure was best because no one ever sees a pedicure with her leg braces on. She chose a pretty peach color for her nails which suited her coloring perfectly.

Rebecca was uber excited to sit in the "spa" chair and have her feet massaged.  She was even more thrilled when I let her get a flower painted on each big toenail.  Later that evening we went to a wedding and she spent a lot of time making sure her feet got noticed. Aren't they cute?

And yes I realize the title is backwards. It is because the girls keep getting the words all mixed up wich just cracks me up!

Photographing Regan

Have I ever mentioned how difficult it is to photograph Regan? It has nothing to do with how gorgeous she is (obviously, LOL), but the fact that she is extremely hard to direct. She has no problems with red eye, coloring, or dark eye circle. It has everything to with the fact she cannot open her eyes and smile at the same time.

"Regan, open your eyes"
So she of course uses her hands to help open her lovely brown eyes wide. her eyelid muscles just refuse to cooperate with her smile muscles. She can also not give a closed mouth smile or a half smile....we have tried.

So often we try to catch her off guard being natural because posing makes it so much worse and you can spend up to an hour wading through posed pics to find one that will "work".

On the other hand Rebecca my little narcissistic child will pose all day long with ease and loves the camera. Half of her pictures are deleted because she could just have you take pics or take them of herself pretty much all day long.

Are some of your children more camera easy than others?

Disney On Ice was Amazing!

It has been a few years since we have gone as a family to one of the Disney on Ice shows. On Friday we took the girls to see the 100 Years of Magic and what an incredible time we had. We enjoyed singing along with all of our favorite songs, and the amazing capabilities of the ice skaters. Some of those skaters are just amazing.  We saw several who could even do back flips on the ice!The girls loved Pinnochio and the Lion king the best, but my favorite was Beauty and the Beast and the trip back time with the "Mickey Mouse Club" theme song. Here are a few pics for you to enjoy.

We snacked as we watched the show on cotton candy that came complete with a crown (with mouse ears of course). We had a great view from the handicapped section. One of the down sides is that you are far away from most of the action, but the major plus is you have plenty of seating room and nobody blocking your view from the front. It was also easy to leave first and get out of the parking lot. It was a fun show that gave several story synopsis with great music to enjoy and a wonderful family moment we will cherish. Thank you again Mom Central for the opportunity to represent you and share with my readers.

Thursdays= Family Days

At our house Thursdays are dedicated to Family Day. It is the a day that I do not work at the gym in the evenings, and the girls have nothing planned. Typically it involves going to the movies or family game night at the house. This week we went golfing as a family and then went to John Mark's office.

The fun part of his office is that he has a ping pong table in his conference room that doubles as his table when he has mettings, but throw on the stereo, order a pizza, and it is our own personal party lounge. In between challenging each other to games and dancing aound the room we enjoyed a family fellowship moment that we have come to look forward to on our Thursday nights.

Anyone else celebrate a family night once a week?

Things Remembered: Make A Wish Bear

One of the most meaningful gifts you can give at Christmas are those that serve a dual purpose. It should awe the recipient and proceeds from the gift  should go to a worthwhile cause. To bring this point home one of my  go-to gift finding places, Things Remembered demonstrates this beautifully this year.

Isn't he adorable? This is Max and he is this year's collaboration with Things Remembered and the Make-A-Wish Foundation. This is a charity that I hold in very high regard. Many of Regan's friends have been granted wishes through this organization and we have seen what a difference it can make in the lives of families with terminally ill children. It is a charity that merits my attention and when there is a bear as adorable as Max that I can buy and personalize, it makes giving so mch easier.

Max has soft moveable arms and he is holding a snowglobe that plays" When you Wish upon a Star". The base of the music box can be engraved with a personal message. I wish I could tell you about my message that my daughter and I requested, but unfortunately that person reads my blog faithfully (sorry). The great part is that two dollars from every Max bear purchased goes to the Make a Wish Foundation with Things Remembered promising a minimum donation this year of $250,000. WOW!

If you are looking for a wonderful gift that also helps terminally ill children fulfill some of their biggest dreams than look into finding your own Max a home this holiday season. Things Remembered is found in most malls or feel free to shop using the highlighted link.

If you are wondering whether  my Max is finding his way to under your tree this year? Well I am not telling!

Disciplining my CP child is tough

You would think a child this lovely could not possibly get in trouble or pull the things that she does. You would think that  and be utterly wrong. I swear she just comes up with ways to make up for the fact that she can't physically do anything wrong....so she justs tests us in every other area.

I will say though this time it has nothing to do with being  random on my cell phone there are no hidden charges for Ferrari parts or anything. Today at the gym Regan had my phone and received a text from John Mark asking what we would like him to make for dinner (yes he cooks most nights, aren't I lucky?). Regan called out the question to Rebecca and I because we were both coaching at the time.

I immediately requested grilled chicken ceasar salads, basically I was craving something delicious and not too heavy for an evening meal. I saw her texting away and gave it no more thought. During a break  between classes I went over and checked my phone, and read Regan's reply to her dad.

"Mom says she wants steak, baked potatoes, and ciabatta bread for dinner"

Ummmmm, no I did not!!!! Sounds more like what Regan wanted for dinner.

We have four days until Regan's birthday party with her best friend from disability camp and normally my first instinct is to take the party away from her for being so disobedient. Unfortunately the tickets for "Disney on Ice" are already here and her friend has never gotten a night out with another friend....ever ( her mom is very hesitant with her disablity).

I hate that she pulls this right before a major event for her because I normally don't hesitate to go full force on discipline, so that it hits hard and makes an impact. So John Mark and I are indiscussion on how else to punish her. Any Ideas?

Tiny Prints and Christmas Cards

Every year I am bombarded with an entourage of beautiful family Christmas cards. The perfect family photos beautifully trimmed with holiday decor. My friend Kelly spends part of her year every year planning her girl's chirstmas card in some unique and adorable situation. My sister, Jennifer always produces the ideal Christmas look in coordinating outfits and beautiful smiles. Every year I have every intention of joining the legion of family friends who send out the prefect Christmas greeting.

Alas, I fail miserably.

This year I have fallen in love with the Tiny Prints holiday selection. I have dreams of the perfect family photo smiling out for all of our friends to see. See that stunning Black and white toile card. Did you know I have a weakness for all thinks toile?

Looking for your own Christmas cards for the holiday season? I can highly reccomend the the photocards, pop up cards, and charity celebrity designed cards from Tiny Prints. I bought the girls camp staion ary from Tiny Prints and I can tell you that this is a quality stationary company that I like so much that they are my first official advertiser (see right hand column for a direct link and example). I am off to plan outfits that match that toile!

Getting Kicked out of a Bingo Hall takes Talent

For the last several Fridays my family has gone against the Texas tradition of Friday Night Football, and stealthily snuck into the underbelly of small town life the Bingo halls. It is a guilty pleasure that I just adore, and have now exposed the rest of my family....to my utter shame and embarrassment.

We have smelled the fried food and lure of possibly easy money. The girls love that they are allowed to play and keep their winnings in a form of gambling that small town likes to call fundraising for charity.

I have discovered that there are many ways to nearly get kicked out of said Bingo halls, and my rambunctious group are testing out every theory.

Things the bingo loyalists do not find funny include

1. Yelling Go Fish instead of Bingo.
2. Annoyingly saying "got it" or "don't got it" after every number called.
3. Having Regan repeat every number called out to make sure she heard it right.
4. Having Rebecca speak quite loudly on the dangers of smoking as she passes the smoking section. (That is sure to increase our popularity)
5. Announcing quite loudly when you have one number left.
6. Saying "Doink" repeatedly as you dob each number on the paper that is called.
7. Having your husband make a snide comment and snicker when they call out " O 69" or your kids using the age old joke of "Before What?" everytime "B4" is called.

What has started out as a fun family activity has become my own personal nightmare as my family is determined to eventually get us kicked out of the bingo hall and then even the underbelly of small town life will cease to exist for us.

Go Fish!!!

The Suburban Outlaw Tales from the Edge: Book Review

I read Suburban Outlaw by Pam Sherman, about a month ago and have already loaned it out twice. First of all because it was laugh out loud funny and secondly beacuse it was a quick read that I knew several of my friends would enjoy. I love it when you read something that can be engagingly familiar without having to tug at heartstrings.

It is a hilarious book that combines a sharp urban sense of humor with an outtake on life in the suburbs. As a small town gal myself it is easy to relate to many of her frustrations such as finding the perfect hairdresser and the right type of clothing to suit the city girl removed from her element. Pam kept me hooting out loud as she talks about finding her people and her husband's "other" girlfriend. I completely related to her absolute loathing for nicknames for herself. Which even inspired me to write a post on that subject matter a while back.

She has the wit of Jen Lancaster in essay form so that each individual portion is easy to read and a story on its' own. I reccomend this to all my readers who find that sarcasm is indeed their hidden superpower and want to enjoy a book without feeling emotionally overwhelmed. This one is book shelf worthy which says a lot at my house.

Order from Amazon and enjoy!

Of South Park and Corn

About a week ago Rebecca came home and asked about the television show "South Park". A friend of hers was saying that it was his favorite show and how funny it was. He was shocked that she had never watched it. I'm pretty sure that up until this point she didn't even know the show existed. It is not a family show that we watch at all in our home. I know I watched a few episodes when it came out years ago, but really it had been eons since I even paid any attention to it.

When she asked me about the show and if she would be allowed to watch it, I responded with "let me watch an episode first and I will let you know if I think it is appropriate."

Wow!

Either I am really old, or this show is just disturbing and I didn't realize it when I watched it years ago. There were basically naked men having sex....on a cartoon, and lots of very degrading remarks. Nothing I would ever let my child watch....and certainly nothing I thought was the slightest bit funny.

I explained the next day that it was not going to be a show she would be able to watch. I told her there were naked people in cartoon form and that I considered it to be porn (a word I should have probably explained better).

Rebecca went of to school and came home later that day saying all of her friends looked confused when she said she was not allowed to watch South Park because it had way to much corn in it.

Yup, corn.
I wish that was South Park's only problem.